Combined door check and closer.



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COMBINED 000B CHECK AND CLOSER.

(Application fund Nov. 24, 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

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COMBINED D003 CHECK AND CLOSER.

(Application med Nov. '44,. v1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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EDl/VARD OLIFF, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

COMBINED D OOR CHECK AND CLOSER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersA Patent N0. 669,158, dated March5, 1901V Application filed November 24, 1900. Serial No. 37,572 (Nomodel.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be itknowu that I, EDWARD CLIFF, acitizen of the United States, and aresident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in a Coin bined Door Checkand Closer, of which the following is a specication.

The invention relates to improvements in combined door .springs andchecks; and it consists in the novel features, arrangement, andcombinations hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out inthe claims.

My invention relates more particularly to the class of door closers andchecks containing within a casing a coiled spring,'a checking medium, apiston, and a central spindle operatively connected with said piston andthe upper end of which is connected by leverarms with the lintel overthe door and the said spring being reversible, so as to adaptA thedevice for right and left hand doors.

The object of the invention is to produce a more perfect and Ymoredurable and less complicated and less expensive combined door check andcloser than those heretofore known to me.

The invention will be fullyunderstood from the detailed descriptionhereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a top view of a combined door check and closerconstructed in accordance with and embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is acentral vertical longitudinal section of saine on the dotted line 2 2 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of same. Fig. 4 is a detached topView of the piston. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of saine. Fig. 6 is adetached side elevation of the lower end of the actuatingspindle withthe gear-wheel thereon, and Fig. 7 is adetached side elevation of thepartition supporting the spring and liquid chambers.

ln the drawings, l0 designates the main casing of the combined doorcheck and closer; ll, the actuating-spindle; 12, the spring for closingthe door, and 13 and 14, respectively, the jointed transmittinglever-arms intermediate the upper end of the actuating-spindle ll andthe lintel over the door, the casingAlO being adapted to be secured tothe door and the lever-arm 14 being pivotally connected with the bracket15, which is intended to be secured to the said lintel in the usualmanner.A

The casing 10 is formed with the springchamber 16 and liquid-chamber 17,the chamber 17 being centrally below the chamber 16 and preferablyhaving downwardly tapered vor converging walls and forming a cylinder,

which will be supplied with oil or other suitablechecking medium.Thespring-chainber 16 and liquid-chamber 17 are separated from eachother by means of a partition 1S, which is secured in place by means ofthe screws 19, which engage threaded apertures formed partly in the edgeof the said partition and partly in the adjoining walls of the casing10. At its central portion the partition 18 is formed with the verticalsleeve 20, which extends downward into the liquid chamber or cylinder 17and also extends slightly upward above the general level of theuppersurfaces of the partition 18, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper surfaceof the partition 18, more especially about its central portion, isformed with the series of ribs 21, which form a base for the spring` 12and keep said spring at a proper elevation to prevent the lower edges ofthe same from being interfered with by the heads of the screws 19. Thepartition 1S has at its lower surfaces and exterior to the sleeve 2O theannular rack 22 and annular shoulder 23, the rack 22 being continuousand formed ofgear-teeth and the shoulder 23 being continuous andextending entirely along one edge of the rack 22 and forming a tramwayfor the edges of the gear-wheels 24, hereinafter described.

The spindle 11 has upon its lower end the bevel gear-wheel 2 5, which isengaged at its upper surfaces by the lower edges of the sleeve 2O andengages the bevel gear-wheels 24 24, disposed intermediate the teeth ofthe said gear-wheel 25 and the teeth 0f the rack 22, formed on thepartition 18, as shown in Fig. 2, said bevel gear-wheels 24 beingengaged by both the bevel gear-wheel 25 and said rack 22. The bevelgear-wheels 24 24 are provided with the eccentric pins 26 26, whichenter bearings 27 in the upper edges of the cup-shaped piston 28 andduring the rotation of said bevel gear-wheels 24 24 operate to elevateand depress said piston. The bevel gear-wheels 24 24 in addition tobeing pro- TOO vided with the usual teeth are formed beyondsaid teethwith the annular edges 29, which engage the annular shoulder 23 on thepartition 18 and during the operation of the check roll over thesurfaces of the said shoulder, and thereby prevent the wheels 24 frombeing crowded 'upward against the rack 22 to any such extent as wouldresult in the teeth of the said rack being ground away or undue frictionor grinding action being created. The annularshoulder 23 and the annularedges 29 of the wheels 24 are so disposed with y relation to one anotherand to the depth of the teeth of the rack 22 and ot' said wheels 24 thatsaid teeth are held in such accurate relation to each other that allundue grinding of the teeth of the wheels against the teeth of the rackis prevented, it being my purpose to secure ease of motion in saidwheels 24 and avoid all unnecessary friction ot' the contacting parts.The edges 29 of the wheels 24 press against the annular shoulder 23, andthus relieve the teeth of the gearwheels 24 from pressing unduly inwardbetween the teeth of the rack 22, 'and since the surfaces of theshoulder 23 and edges 29 of the wheels 24 are smooth there will be anabsence oE friction between the said wheels and the said shoulder 23,the result being that the wheels 24 are assured ease of motion. Thegear-wheel 25, carried on the lower end of the spindle 1l, lits closelyup against the lower edges of the sleeve 2O and supports the gear-wheels24 in position, and the said gearwheels 24 through the pins 26 supportthe piston 28. The close contact of the upper surfaces of the gear-wheel25 with the lower edges of the sleeve 2O will prevent oil from undulygetting between the inner walls of the said sleeve 2() and the exteriorsurfaces of the said spindle 11. rlhe partition 18 thus separates theliquid chamber or cylinder 17 from the spring-chamber 1b' and aords atits upper surfaces a support t'or the spring 12 and at its lowersurfaces is equipped with the sleeve 20, rack 22, and annular shoulder23, and, as may be observed, the sleeve 20`forms au extended bearing forthe lower portion of the spindle 1l.

The piston 28 is of cup construction and has upwardly-extending sidearms 30 30, Fig. 5, containing apertures to receive the pins 26, carriedby the gear-wheels 24, and said piston 28 will, when the walls of thecylinder 17 are tapered, have downwardly-converging walls correspondingwith the taper of the inner walls of the cylinder 17. The lower end ofthe piston 28 is provided with the ports 31 and plate-valve 32, saidvalve 32 normally closing said ports 31 and at all times closing saidports 31 during the downstroke of the piston 28. During the upstroke ofthe piston 28 the liquid passing into the ports 31 will open the valve32 and pass toward the lower end of the cylinder 17 in a well-knownmanner, said ports 31 and plate-valve 32 being familiar elements in thisart. D uring'the upward movement of the piston 28 the liquid within thecylinder 17 may pass downward through the port-s 31 and also through thespace between the exterior side walls of the piston 28 and the interioradjacent walls of the cyliuder17, the purpose being to permit during theascent of the piston 28 and the opening of the door a free ow of theliquid to the lower side ot' the said piston; but during the closing ofthe door and the descent of the piston 28 the liquid should be more orYless conned at the lower end of the cylinder 17, so that said liquidmay operate as a check to resist the slamming of the door during theclosing of the latter by the spring 12, and hence during the descent ofthe piston 28 the valve 32 will close the ports 31 and the only escapefor the liquid from the lower end of the cylinder 17 will be upwardbetween the sidewalls of said piston and the adjacent walls of saidcylinder. The taper of the piston 28 and cylinder 17 is such that as thepiston 28 is moving toward its lower position its side walls willgradually pass into the lower more contracted portion of the cylinder 17and in an increasing degree restrict the space between its side wallsand the walls of the said cylinder, whereby during the first portion ofthe closing movement of the door the liquid may more freely pass upwardaround the outer sides of the piston 28; but during the latter portionof the closing movement of the door the escape of the said liquid willbecome more greatly restricted and the door at the latter part of itsclosing movement will be checked by the conti nement of the liquid atthe lower end of the cylinder 17, said liquid not being absolutelysealed at the lower end of the cylin'der'17, but so nearly so that itsescape during the latter part of the closing movement of the door willbe so gradual that the liquid will be enabled to resist in a measure theaction of the spring 12, whereby the door will Aclose positively, butgently.

The spring 12 is reversible, as usual, and at its outer end is hookedupon the wall of the casing l() and at its inner end is hooked upon theusual shoulder provided upon the sleeve 33, which encompasses thespindle 11 and extends downward to the upper end ot' the sleeve 20,forming a part of the partition 18, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper end ofthe sleeve 33 is formed with the gear-wheel 34, which is directly uponthe central raised portion 35 of the cap 36, which closes the upper endof the spring-chamber 16. The gearwheel 34 is directly intermediate thecap 36 and lower surface of the lever-arm 13, and said lever-arm 13 isprovided with the pawl 37, which is adapted to engage said gearwheel 34and which is formed with the two ends, as shown, so that the one pawl 37may, in a well-known manner in this art, be utilized in connection withthe check whether the latter is arranged for a right-hand door or aleft-hand door. The pawl 37, lever-arms 13 14, and gear-wheel 34 arewell-known ele- IOO IIO

ments in this art and are not sought to be separately claimed herein.The spring 12 is also the customary form of spring used in this art andit is reversible in the usual manner and adapted to be secured at itshookshaped ends to the casing and sleeve 33, respectively, in a mannerwell understood.

The operation of the lever-arms 13 14, pawl 37, gear-wheel 34, sleeve33, and spring 12 will be understood withoutdetailed explanation. Duringthe opening of the door the spindle 11 will be rotated, as usual, andwill communicate its motion to the gear-wheel 25, carried at its lowerend, and this gear-wheel will, in conjunction with the annular' rack 22,rotate the bevel gear-wheels 24 and cause said wheels 24 while rotatingto roll upon the rack 22 and annular shoulder 23, the result being thatduring the opening of the door the spindle 11 and gear-wheel 25 willrotate the gear-wheels 24 and, through the latter and their eccentricpins 26, effect the ascent of the piston 28 and that during the closingof the door the spindle 11, then rotating in the reverse direction,will, by means of its gearwheel 25 and bevel gear-wheels 24, eect thedescent of the piston 28 against the liquid within the lower end of thecylinder 17, said liquid acting to check the downward motion of saidpiston 28 and consequently to retard the rotation of the spindle 11 and,through the levers 13 14, the closing of the door. The rotation of thespindle 11-and gear-wheel 25 eects, in conjunction with the rack 22,thepositive rotation of the bevel gear-wheels 24 and the rolling ot' thesaid wheels 24 along the rack 22 and shoulder 23, and during the rollingaction of the pinion-wheels 24 along the rack 22 and shoulder 23 saidwheels 24 will, through the pins 26, carry the piston 28. Thus thepiston 28 while performing its vertical motion travels on asubstantiallyspiral line, being gradually lowered against the liquid at the lower endof the cylinder 17 and gradually elevated therefrom, said piston 28having a descending motion on a spiral line during its partial rotationand having its ascending motion on the saine spiral line during itspartial rotation back to its upper position. It has been sufficientlyexplained above that the outer edges 29 of the bevel gear-wheels 24 rideagainst the annular shoulder 23 during the use of the check, and Iregard the employment of the annular shoulder 23 for the purposespecified as of considerable advantage.

In the preferred construction thegear-w heel 25 will correspond 1n sizewith the rack 22 and the gear-wheels 24 24 will be smaller than thegear-wheel 25 in order that said gearwheels 24 may be enabled to imparta full stroke to the piston 28 with the minimum travel of said wheelsalong the rack 22. The employment ot' the smaller wheels 24 also enablesme not only to make use of a shorter cylinder' 17, but it secures theadvantages of employing a piston 28 of considerable area and having ashort stroke. I deem it of advantage to impart to the piston 28 a rotaryspiral or screw-like motion duringits descent, especially when saidpiston is of the extended surface area indicated in the drawings, sincethereby the descent of the piston against the liquid at the lower end ofthe cylinder 17 while performed positively is rendered uniform-l hat isto say, when the piston while descending is given a rotary or screw-likemotion there is an entire absence of any irregularity in the mechanismor jarring eect on the door, which might be caused by the sudden thrustof the fiat piston in a direct line against the body of the liquid or bythe presence of air below the piston or other causes. When the pistonwhile descending is given the rotary or screw-like motion, the parts ofthe check, andconsequently the door to which they are applied, have asteadiness of motion andaction and an efficiency which are highlydesirable.

It may be observed on reference to Fig. 2 that the gear-wheels 24 arermly held at their upper and lower edges between the annular shoulder 23and gear-wheel 25 and that at their outer faces the said gear-wheels 24are against the hubs 40, which surround the bearing-apertures 27 in thepiston 28 and pro-v ject inward, so as to contact with the outer facesof said wheels 24, whereby said wheels 24 are kept from moving laterallyaway from the teeth of the wheel 25 and rack 22.

I desire it to be fully understood that the invention is not limited toa partition 18 adapted to seal theliquid-cylinder from thespringchamber, nor to a partition of any special construction other thanmay be indicated in the following claims.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In a door check and closer, them-ain casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring within saidspring-chamber, the actuating-spindle, and the lever-arms connected withsaid spindle and spring, combined with the gear-wheel 25 carried at thev lower end of said spindle, the partition having the stationary rack 22in line with the teeth of said gear-wheel 25, the gear-wheels 24intermediate the said gear-wheel 25 and said rack, the piston withinsaid cylinder, and the pins disposed eccentrically to said gearwheels 24and engaging said piston to elevate and lower the same upon the rotationof said gear-wheels 24; substantially as set forth.

2. In a door check and closer, the main casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring within saidspring-chamber, the abtnating-spindle, and the lever-arms connected withsaid spindle and spring, combined with the gear-wheel 25 carried at thelower end of Said spindle, the partition having the stationary rack 22in line with the teeth of said gear-wheel 25, and also having theannular shoulder 23 forming a tramway along the edge of said rack 22,the gear-wheels 24 intermediate the said gear-wheel 25 and IIO said rackandv having the peripheral edges 29 to engage and roll on said tramway,the piston within said cylinder, and the pins disposed eccentrically tosaid gearwheels 24 and engaging said piston to elevate and lower thesame upon the rotation of said gear-wheels 24; substantially as setforth.

3. In a door check and closer, the main casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring within saidspring-chamber, the actuating-spindle, and the lever-arms connected withsaid spindle and spring, combined with the partition between saidspringchamber and said cylinder and having the central bearing-sleeve 20for said spindle and also having the rack 22, the gear-wheel 25 carriedat theA lower end of said spindle and having its teeth in line with theteeth of said rack, the gearwheels 24 intermediate the said gear-wheel25 and said rack, the pistou within said cylinder, and the pins disposedeccentricallyto said gear-wheels 24 and engaging said piston to elevateand lower the same upon the rotation of said gear-wheels 24, saidbearing-sleeve 2O extending downward to the upper surface of saidgear-Wheel 25; substantially as set forth.

4. In a door check and closer, the main casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring` within saidspring-chamber, the actuating spindle, and the leverarms connected withsaid spindle and spring, combined with the partition 18 between saidspring-chamber and said cylinder and having the central bearing-sleeve2O for said spindle, and also having the annular rack 22 and annularshoulder 23, the gear-wheel 25 carried at the lower end of said spindleand having its teeth in line with the teeth of said rack 22, thegear-wheels 24 intermediate the said gear-wheel 25 and said rack, andhaving the peripheral edges 29 to engage and roll on said shoulder 23,the piston within said cylinder, and the pins disposed eccentrically tosaid gear-wheels 24 and engaging said piston to elevate and lower thesame upon the rotation of said gear-wheels 24; substantially as setforth.

5. In a door check and closer, the main casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring within saidspring-chamber, the actuating-spindle extending through saidspring-chamber into said liquid-cylinder, the sleeve 33 encompassingsaid spindlewithin said spring-chamber and having the gear-wheel 34 onits upper end, the spring 12 engaging the wall of said casing and saidsleeve, and the lever-arm connected with said spindle and saidgear-wheel, combined with the partition 18 between said spring-chamberand said liquid-cylinder and having the rack 22 and also the Centralbearing-sleeve 20 which extends upward to the lower end of said sleeve33 and downward into the liquidcylinder to form an elongated bearing forsaid spindle, the gear-wheel 25 carried at the lower end of said spindleand having its upper surface close to the lower edges of saidbearingsleeve20, the gear-wheels 24, intermediate the said gear-wheel 25and said rack, the piston within said cylinder, and the pins disposedeccentrically to said gear-wheels 24 and engaging said piston to elevateand lower the same upon the rotation of said gear-wheels 24;substantially as set forth.

6. In a door check and closer, the main casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring within saidspring-charnber, the actuating-spindle, and the lever-arms connectedwith said spindle and spring, said cylinder being centrally below saidspringchamber and disposed vertically, combined with the piston withinsaid" cylinder and means cooperating with said spindle for moving saidpiston vertically and compelling said piston, while performing itsvertical movement, to also have a rotary motion, whereby said piston,when moving against the liquid during Vthe closing of the door, iscompelled to move both vertically and in a rotary direction;substantially as set forth.

7. In a door check and closer, the main casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring within saidspring-chainber, the actuating-spindle, and the lever-arms connectedwith said spindle and spring, combined with the gear-wheel 25 carried atthe lower end of said spindle, the partition having the stationary rack22 in line with the teeth of said gear-wheel 25, the gear-wheels 24intermediate the said gear-wheel 25 and said rack, the cup-shaped piston23 within said cylinder and having the bearing-hubs 40, and the pinsdisposed eccentrically to said gear-wheels 24 and engaging said pistonto elevate and lower the same upon the rotation of said gear-wheels 24,the said hubs 40 eX- tending inward to the outer faces of saidgearwheels 24 and keeping said gear-wheels 24 in mesh with saidgear-wheel 25 and said rack 22; substantially as set forth.

8. In a door check and closer, the main casing forming thespring-chamber and liquidcylinder, the spring within saidspring-chamber, the actuating-spindle, and the lever-arms connected withsaid spindle and spring, said cylinder being centrally below saidspringchamber and disposed vertically, combined with the piston withinsaid cylinder, the gearwheels 24 and eccentric pins engaging said pistonfor raising and lowering the same, and means coperating with saidspindle for imparting a rotary and also a rolling motion to saidgear-wheels, whereby said piston while on its descent is given ascrew-like motion against the liquid; substantially as s et forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 23d day of November, A. D. 1900.

EDWARD OLIFF.

IZO

